


Gone

by Imaginative_Spirit



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Puppet Cloud Strife, with a sprinkle of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26031421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginative_Spirit/pseuds/Imaginative_Spirit
Summary: Looks like someone's having a nightmare.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Comments: 28
Kudos: 117





	Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything! Took a break from working on my current big writing project and threw together this weird little oneshot just because I could. I hope you enjoy!! <3

Cloud knows the signs by now. He wakes up feeling cold, blinks wearily and finds that Sephiroth has hogged all the blankets and curled up into a ball on the other side of the bed. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what Sephiroth’s quick, shallow breaths and trembling body entails.

“Sephiroth?” Cloud whispers, but doesn’t reach out to touch. Sephiroth tends to react poorly when startled out of sleep. Cloud wonders what it is that haunts Sephiroth’s dreams this time. The war? The labs? Sephiroth never talks much about either of those things. Says it’s company policy. Cloud isn’t sure he believes him. He can’t help but feel like maybe Sephiroth thinks he’s not strong enough to hear it.

“No…” Sephiroth gasps, so quietly that Cloud can barely hear him. “No, please… No…” He’s more expressive when he’s dreaming, in a way. Cloud has never heard him beg for anything while awake. It hurts to see him like this, so vulnerable and afraid of something that Cloud can’t see, and Cloud can’t do anything other than watch and hope that he wakes up soon. It makes him feel so helpless to just lie here and watch Sephiroth suffer.

Finally, after an eternity, Sephiroth begins to stir. Cloud hears his breath hitch and then deepen and slow, as if Sephiroth is trying to calm himself by focusing on his breathing. He’s still turned away from Cloud, so Cloud doesn’t dare to touch him in case it’ll startle him.

“Sephiroth”, he says instead, watching as Sephiroth flinches. “You okay?”

Sephiroth doesn’t reply. He’s typically not very talkative after a nightmare. Cloud wonders if it’s because he doesn’t want Cloud to hear his voice crack and tremble, if it’s just that hard for him to consciously display weakness. But despite not responding, Sephiroth is at least willing to turn over to face Cloud, still wrapped up in all the blankets as if that will somehow shield him from whatever it is that’s on his mind.

He looks so tired. He always does, because he works way too hard, but it’s especially pronounced now, at 3AM with bags under his eyes, hands clutching the blankets tight, and Cloud hates knowing that he’ll have to be up for a mission in just a few more hours when he’s clearly barely slept. Sephiroth looks so painfully sad too, in such a deep, fundamental way that it feels difficult for Cloud to grasp.

“It’s okay, Seph. Come here”, Cloud says and holds his arms out. He only ever uses the nickname sparingly, trying to get Sephiroth to associate it with intimate moments like this, with _safety_.

Sephiroth hesitates for a moment. Cloud sees the wary look in his eyes slowly give in to the yearning to come closer, and so, finally, Sephiroth does. Like a wildcat, he moves in cautiously, very little at a time, until he can tuck his head against Cloud’s chest. To listen to his heartbeat, Cloud realises, and it makes his heart ache.

“You can talk about it, if you want”, he asks, already knowing that Sephiroth won’t share anything beyond surface-level details. Sephiroth is many things, but he isn’t good with words. As predicted, Sephiroth says nothing; he just wraps his arms around Cloud’s waist and holds on, not nearly as tight as Cloud wishes he would. He wants Sephiroth to cling to him unabashedly, but he’ll take what he can get.

Cloud doesn’t say anything more either. He focuses on running his fingers through Sephiroth’s hair in what he hopes is a soothing gesture. Once Sephiroth is somewhat more relaxed, he begins humming an old Nibel lullaby that his mother used to sing to him as a child.

“You were gone”, Sephiroth whispers unexpectedly.

“Huh?”

“In the dream.” Sephiroth’s voice isn’t usually this soft, this withdrawn, but then again, he never usually talks after his nightmares at all, so Cloud counts this as progress. “There was no trace of you, no matter where I looked. I kept calling for you, begging you to come back, but…”

Oh. Oh, that was what it was about? Cloud almost forgets how to breathe. Sephiroth had a nightmare about _losing him?_ He knows that Sephiroth cares despite not being the most openly affectionate person in the world, but somehow, this admission makes Cloud that maybe, he means even more to Sephiroth than he’s been assuming.

Maybe he’s not just some average trooper, after all. Maybe he can be something better, something greater, if Sephiroth sees him that way. He doesn’t want to disappoint. Not when Sephiroth – strong, brave, _perfect_ Sephiroth – talks about Cloud as if he’s his entire world. And maybe he is, Cloud realises with a pang. Maybe, he really is.

“I’m right here now. It’s okay”, Cloud says and adjusts his position a bit so that he can wrap his arms tighter around Sephiroth’s head. “It was just a bad dream.”

“I don’t want to lose you”, Sephiroth mumbles, so quietly and hesitantly that Cloud wants to do anything to reassure him. A hero seeking validation from a nobody. How strange.

“You’re not going to. I promise.”

Sephiroth makes a satisfied little noise against Cloud’s chest and tilts his head up to glance at Cloud. He looks slightly less unhinged now, as if Cloud’s touch has helped him calm down a little bit. Cloud smiles at him, and Sephiroth manages a careful smile back. He’s so beautiful. Cloud feels so incredibly lucky to have him.

“I want you to stay with me forever”, Sephiroth murmurs. “Don’t leave me.”

“Why would I leave you?” Cloud asks. “I love you.” Those words are also something he uses sparingly, and Sephiroth seems to melt at them, smile widening as he grows ever more relaxed. It’s rare to see him so pliant, especially immediately after a nightmare. Cloud wonders if his own presence really is so comforting to Sephiroth right now. He scratches behind Sephiroth’s ear and watches Sephiroth’s eyes fall closed as he lets out a sigh of relief.

“You take such good care of me.” He rolls onto his back, and Cloud takes the opportunity to lean over him to press soft kisses to his lips. Sephiroth returns them slowly yet passionately, and reaches an arm out to wrap it around Cloud’s waist loosely. Always so careful, as if he’s afraid to break Cloud.

“You’re always looking after me too. I wanna do the same for you”, Cloud says between kisses.

“Yes… We depend on each other, don’t we? Two sides of a coin, two halves of a whole”, Sephiroth whispers against his lips. “We are nothing without each other. Nothing.”

Is that really true? Cloud thinks back to what he was like before he started dating Sephiroth. A pathetic loser, always ostracised by his peers, with no hope of ever passing the SOLDIER exams and becoming like his hero. But not anymore, now that he’s got Sephiroth, he –

Wait. How did he and Sephiroth meet, again? How long have they been dating? He can’t remember. Why can’t he remember –

The scenery falls apart and now they’re no longer lying in bed but standing by the water tower in Nibelheim as the fire rages on around them. The smell of smoke and the screams of the townspeople make Cloud sick, though not nearly as sick as the smirk on Sephiroth’s face.

“Puppet”, Sephiroth’s voice echoes hungrily in his ears, and the arm wrapped around Cloud’s waist suddenly doesn’t feel comforting but instead like a trap. He can’t move. Why can’t he move? “My puppet.” He bends down to press his lips to Cloud’s, and it tastes like ashes.

Cloud wakes up with a feeling of raw panic in his chest. He thrashes about but he still can’t move, something’s got him trapped, something –

With a thud, he rolls out of bed and lands on the floor just as he realises that he simply got tangled up in a blanket. Deep relief overcomes him, and he has to laugh as he stares up at the ceiling. What an absurd dream. Of course it wasn’t real. How could he have believed any of that, even for a single moment? Everything is fine.

“Cloud?” A horrifyingly familiar voice echoes through the quiet room, and Cloud nearly forgets how to breathe when an equally familiar face peers over the edge of the bed. Unblinking, Sephiroth stares down at him, and the terror that had nearly relinquished its hold on him returns with full force.

Cloud doesn’t even think. He leaps to his feet and launches himself at Sephiroth, because even though he doesn’t have his sword he won’t go down without a fight. He tries to scratch, bite, tear, use every single tool at his disposal, but Sephiroth is too strong. Swiftly and effortlessly, he pins Cloud to the bed, using his entire body to keep Cloud in place.

“Let me go, you bastard!” Cloud screams. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Cloud”, Sephiroth says, so calmly that it causes Cloud’s brain to just stop working for a moment. There’s no air of smug superiority, no malicious intent. “Calm down, Cloud. You had a nightmare. About me, I presume.” He looks… sad. Why does he look so sad? “I’m not going to hurt you. Not anymore.”

Cloud doesn’t feel it until Sephiroth is already puppeteering him, forcing his entire body into a relaxed state. Not anymore? Oh. Oh, right. Sephiroth doesn’t follow Jenova’s call anymore. He isn’t going to hurt Cloud, or anyone else for that matter. He hasn’t done so since he came back to life a year ago…

“That’s right”, Sephiroth murmurs and leans down to press their foreheads together. His hair gets in Cloud’s face and it tickles. Somehow that feels more calming than anything else. More grounding, more real. “You’re safe with me, Cloud. Perfectly safe.”

Cloud tries to speak, but it just turns into a pathetic little whine. A part of him is still caught up in the panic he felt a moment ago, but more and more, he allows Sephiroth’s presence to seep into him until the forced relaxation begins to feel genuine.

“Good boy”, Sephiroth says fondly. “Let’s go back to sleep, now.”

“Sorry”, Cloud whispers. He feels bad for immediately resorting to violence. Sephiroth is such a paragon of patience.

“It isn’t your fault that my face haunts your nightmares”, Sephiroth says. “The blame for that belongs solely to me. There’s no need for you to apologise.” He stops pinning Cloud to the mattress, instead moving over to lie down next to Cloud now that he seems certain that Cloud isn’t going to attack him.

Cloud doesn’t know what to say to that, so he just shifts closer and reaches out to brush his hand over Sephiroth’s cheek. No longer does Sephiroth melt from just a soft touch. The years that have passed since those simpler days have left their marks on both of them. Still, Cloud moves to stroking Sephiroth’s hair, trying to coax those unguarded expressions from him once again.

“What are you doing?” Sephiroth asks. He just looks confused, now. Cloud supposes they haven’t been very affectionate with each other, after everything that happened. It comes with too many bad memories.

“Just trying to relive a memory”, he says and scratches at the spot behind Sephiroth’s ear that he knows Sephiroth likes.

“Those days are long gone, Cloud…” Sephiroth sighs, but Cloud can see him relax just a little bit. So guarded, in a way he never was with Cloud before. Cloud can’t remember the details of what their relationship used to be like, before, but he knows that Sephiroth never smiles like he used to. He wishes he could do something about that. Wishes things could be like they were when they were together the first time around. It’s a wonder they even managed to drift back together after everything…

Out of nowhere, Cloud can feel the panic building in his chest again. Doesn’t know what to do. He moves closer to Sephiroth, nestles up against his chest and tries to breathe, but it only gets worse and worse… until Sephiroth’s mind once again wraps around him like a warm blanket, soothing him until all his anxieties melt away.

“That’s it, Cloud… Relax for me.” Sephiroth wraps his arms around Cloud and clings to him tight enough to hurt. “Don’t be afraid… You’re safe.” He still sounds so painfully sad. Cloud wishes there was something he could do to help.

“I love you, Seph”, he whispers and cherishes the way Sephiroth’s breath hitches at that, barely loud enough to hear. He expects a soft confession in return, but instead, Sephiroth twines their minds together further, until Cloud isn’t sure where one of them ends and the other begins.

“Sleep now, my sweet puppet.”

The command is spoken kindly, but firmly. Cloud is asleep again before he knows it.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to tell me your thoughts with a comment, I'm kinda curious to see what ppl thought of this since it's pretty different from my usual stuff! <3 And as usual, my twitter is [@ethereal_savior](https://twitter.com/ethereal_savior) and you're more than welcome to come yell at me over there! ;D


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